How chilly evenings really make me feel.

I never thought I’d be the girl who enjoyed the days where laundry was in the dryer, warm soup was simmering in our slow cooker, and I’d be on my second or third cup of warm beverage for the day… whether that be coffee or tea, and find the most fulfillment.

Maybe the only thing missing from this picture is snow. You know what I mean? Those days you’d wake up, run into your parents room and check their TV for closed school listings. Growing up in Lexington, waiting for that “L” always seemed like it took forever to arrive and when it did, boy, was that the greatest feeling in the world.

Being on the other side of that now, not that Matt and I are parents yet, but I can only imagine how happy those snow days made my mom. My dad, too, except snow days usually meant there was a driveway waiting to be shoveled and just because it snowed, usually never meant patients cancelled.

I remember the happiness and joy that it brought my mom to have everyone around the table on snowy days, and she’d make this huge breakfast – and huge really isn’t an understatement. My mom is the queen of “small meals” being code for really huge meals. Usually some sort of pancake, breakfast potatoes, fruit and always bacon; my dad would go to Dunkin Donuts down the street and come back with bagels and donuts; if we were really lucky, my dad would go to Somerville (a little city outside of Boston about twenty minutes away) and go to our childhood bakery and buy some of our favorite donuts.

I guess I’ve always had a thing for donuts.

But I say all that to say this: on the other side of childhood is the happiness of being a family. I understand my mom so much more these days. I understand why she would say things like, “someday, you’ll understand.” Granted, in the moment, I really didn’t like hearing that because it made me feel like I didn’t understand – and which teenager likes hearing that?! But, really, isn’t that true?